Slow Fest

[kenny mac]

It seems the new fest is getting off to a slow start 1 song in each,in fact the site is rather slow with people as well,must be a seasonal thing,I wonder what the statistics for posting are on a monthly bases and what months are more productive?
I think bumping people that have not been on for a while might be a good way of generating their interest again.
I feel a lot of people that were major contributors are drifting in and out less frequently.
I'm not in any way complaining that they are just making the observation.
People have busy life's,times change.
We need a huge collab thing again to get this baby up and running again.
A collab fest 

[Black Mary]

As a returning Songcrafter I say count me in ☺ There's nowt like a collab to get the momentum going again 😀

[Hook]

You are the collaboration king my brother.

I know for me summer's  (especially this one) are a bit different so I'm sure that has something to do with it. I think people's priorities and situations change and float in and out.  Lets face it, Not everyone is as obsessed with writing & recording as you or I are.

I also think the atmosphere has definitely changed a bit, less real time communication and a bit less intamacy. Quite a few one sided relationships trying to be developed (fans/following/etc.) , I know it turns me off & I don't really want to comment and sadly I dont. That might change come fall when my schedule gets a bit more manageable...but now with 4 kids manageable seems unlikely.

As far as the fests go, I personally have no interest in parodies and certainly have no time to spend on them currently.if something were yo just come to me then so be it, but it also seems unlikely. I do like the kinks but I've done a few in the past and quite honestly, they take a bit of work to learn and do well and I just don't have that kinda time right now. I was also very dissapiontment with the turn out of OldSchoolFest, considering how many votes it got...not mine but I was one of the 4 or 5...how many of you who contributed voted for that one? ...buy none of that really matters.

With all that said, if it does seem slow, I think it's still pretty active in relativity to other forums and still overwhelmingly positive, which (in my opinion) is the greatest quality among the many great qualities of songcrafters. I do wish some posts seemed less like sales pitches and networking and more like community...but that's still a minority among  our great songcrafters here.
Oh I also really hate when every other comment o a thread is from the person who posted. All the thanks posts(self bumping promotion tactic) from members that continue to not  comment on others posts are the plague of all forums I think. Don't get me wrong, I like the communication and have no real problem with threads being high jacked to some degree but if your just going to bump your song with a "thanks" or a "cheers" reconsider and bump that fellow songcrater who took the time to listen to your song in the 1st place.
But what do I know?
Rock on!

[bruno]

My brothers. Totally understand where you are with this - and feel it myself. I do cherish this site, its inspired me so much, and have friendships around the world that I simply would not have. The community aspect is the part that makes this site stand out, else we may as well simply post on youtube!

Many of us are busy, some have other things in their life happening where music has to take second place, some of us simply run out of steam now and again ( I'm a little in that space - it will pass :-) ). People do play games - and it is sometimes frustainting and off putting, but I guess everyone decides how they use this site . For me, particularly currently, I have limited time to listen and comment - (I will try harder). I'm not sure how to get people putting in as well as taking out, as long as in-out>0 then the site grows, else it shrinks.

B
 

[Johnny Robbo]

I think I'm one of the guilty parties here... I haven't been on the site anywhere near as much as usual lately. All the usual "real life" stuff getting in the way, I'm afraid.

As for the current fests... the parody fest is pretty hard for me to take part in as I don't sing, so anything which relies on lyrics is a bit of a non-starter for me. I've been puzzling how to do some kind of instrumental parody, but I'm struggling to find a way of making anything like that work. That said... if anyone wants to do a collab on this, I'll gladly supply the backer

The Kinks fest? Not a band I'm that familiar with beyond the 2 or 3 obvious hits. Never been that much of a fan of them, so it's difficult to find the inspiration to put the work into doing a cover... especially when it takes that much more effort to make an instrumental version which works - if you subtract the lyrical content from any song, it requires that extra "something" to hold the listener's interest & that spark of inspiration is lacking in me just now.

A mass participation collab? Count me in. I need something to gee me up a bit & that might just be the catalyst I need to find my "mojo" again.

[ODH]

Funny that so many of us seem to be in the same fug.  For me work is really busy and as well as the impact to the amount of time I get, it also seems to impact on my creativity when I do get time.

It's weird with the Kinks; so many of the bands I love can trace their influences back to them, but I could never get into their music.

Last week, I was listening to my 2015 playlist on my pie-pod, I was way more creative and productive then.  Maybe it will come back, who knows.

Anyway, yes, Let's All Collaborate...

 

[Hilary]

Yep me too, just not feeling it at the moment which is probably due to being constantly tired (from working and gigging).

I also have no interest whatsoever in a parody fest or the Kinks particularly either but that's the way the cookie crumbles as they say.



Johnny - you need never be short of a singer on here - just ask!

Maybe all of us in a fug atm should just pick someone new to collab with and get on with it - afterall we don't really need a banner!

[64Guitars]

I do wish some posts seemed less like sales pitches and networking and more like community...but that's still a minority among  our great songcrafters here.

That's always been one of my pet peeves too. Most of our regular members are very good about taking part in the community, listening to everyone's songs, and posting positive comments. But there are a few (I suppose there always will be) who obviously only visit the site when they have a new song to post. Then, if they comment on anyone else's songs at all, it's only the people who commented on their song to pay them back.

For the community to thrive, members should forget about paying back. Instead, they should pay forward. That is, they should listen to the songs of other members, regardless of whether they've commented on their own songs or not, and offer some positive comments. I'd also like to encourage those few members to visit the site on a more regular basis, listen to some songs, and post some comments. It doesn't have to be every day if you don't have the time for it. But if you could visit once or twice every week, that would be so much better than just visiting when you have a new song to post, then disappearing for a month or two until you have another song.

Oh I also really hate when every other comment o a thread is from the person who posted. All the thanks posts(self bumping promotion tactic) from members that continue to not  comment on others posts are the plague of all forums I think. Don't get me wrong, I like the communication and have no real problem with threads being high jacked to some degree but if your just going to bump your song with a "thanks" or a "cheers" reconsider and bump that fellow songcrater who took the time to listen to your song in the 1st place.

Yep. Pay it forward, not back. Instead of thanking each commenter individually in your own song post topic, listen to some songs by other members (not just the ones who commented on your song) and offer some positive comments and encouragement. This way, you're contributing to the community as a whole rather than just to a few individuals, which makes the community better for everyone. And it makes your own song post topics seem less self-indulgent.

Lest anyone thinks I'm being a hypocrite by asking people to comment on songs when I seldom comment myself, I'd just like to say that I think I'm in a unique position as the only person maintaining and developing the software for the site. I used to comment quite a lot but I found that it wasn't leaving me much time for working on the site. So, a couple of years ago, I decided to concentrate on the software instead of listening and commenting. I'll still post the occasional comment, but for the most part, I'd rather make my contributions to the site by improving the software. And I have a lot of administrative responsibilities too (festivals, backups, etc.), so there really isn't much time for me to listen and comment. I hope everyone understands.

As for the current fests... the parody fest is pretty hard for me to take part in as I don't sing, so anything which relies on lyrics is a bit of a non-starter for me. I've been puzzling how to do some kind of instrumental parody, but I'm struggling to find a way of making anything like that work. That said... if anyone wants to do a collab on this, I'll gladly supply the backer

I don't sing either. And, although I haven't recorded anything in a long while, what I used to do is record all the music for a song, then ask another member to add the vocals for me. Perhaps you could try that instead of waiting for someone to ask you for a backer. I'm sure you'd have no trouble finding someone who's willing to add the vocals to your music. Oldrottenhead, kenny mac, thetworegs, fenderbender, and Hilary are just a few that spring to mind. I'm sure there are many more. And, although you don't sing, there's no reason why you can't write some parody lyrics, is there? Judging from your posts, you seem to be very good at expressing yourself with the written word, so I think you could create a brilliant parody. A nice thing about parodies is that the vocal melody is already known, so anyone could sing your lyrics.

I think parodies can be a lot of fun. One member who has done several excellent parodies is Vanncad. Have a listen to these. They might inspire you to create your own parody.

"My Favourite Things" - a music gear-themed parody of "My Favorite Things" from The Sound of Music.
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=5513.0

"Painful, Queasy Feeling" - a parody of "Peaceful Easy Feeling" by the Eagles.
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=9324.0

The following three parodies feature lyrics about Vanncad's job as a technical writer.

"Cheap Tech Writer" - a parody of ZZ Top's "Cheap Sunglasses"
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=3357.0

"Missin' My CD" - a parody of Mountain's "Mississippi Queen"
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=3356.0

"Technical Writer" - a parody of The Beatles' "Paperback Writer"
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=3355.0

Another great parody is jackofall's punk version of "Over the Rainbow" from The Wizard of Oz.
https://songcrafters.org/community/index.php?topic=1548.0

And if you're not interested in writing your own lyrics, you could always cover one of the many parodies by Weird Al Yankovic, Bob Rivers, etc.

[Lurker]

As for the current fests... the parody fest is pretty hard for me to take part in as I don't sing, so anything which relies on lyrics is a bit of a non-starter for me. I've been puzzling how to do some kind of instrumental parody, but I'm struggling to find a way of making anything like that work. That said... if anyone wants to do a collab on this, I'll gladly supply the backer

I love to write parody lyrics and sing them, but I have no equipment.  Any recording I do is at Bruce's (Blooby's).  It's hard to find the time to get to his place.  That's why many of our recent posts are live gigs.  Those have been put off lately too.  I'd love to sing over a Johnny Robbo backing track, but the opportunity isn't there.

I've considered changing my name on the site, but it seems to fit.  I don't record on my own, so I don't have anything to post.  As a pure vocalist, I don't have any gear to discuss.  I feel like an outsider because I am not a true contributor.  I do listen to music that catches my attention.  I don't always comment, because I can't think of anything to say.  That gets me in trouble with my wife all the time: "What do you think of this outfit?"

Lack of time seems to be a common thread here.  Time away from our real world responsibilities.  I do love that this forum gives so many a means to get away and express themselves.  However you want to do it is okay by me.  We all communicate in our own way.  There are some extremely creative people here.  I only wish I had time to hear and read it all.

[Hook]

Lurker- I think you should quit your job...you could post more. Also, buy a damn MBR, guitar center here in tampa has one for 80 bucks and will ship it to the store near you for free. Ebay also often has them for around $50. You don't even need a mic, just pop in the mp3 from someone and your in business.

64-thanks for all you do sir!

Hilary- nothing should be done without a banner...nothing!

JohnnyRobbo- none of this applied to you. You have embraced the spirit of this site to a tee. Daily activity  isn't what's being encouraged here, it's the support through commenting and listening to others.

I never fully understand why people would think this is a site to expand a following. You don't go after other musicians/songwriters for fans, you go after the general public. Youtube does seem like a better alternative for the sole songplugger members, but again...what do I know.
Perhaps it's time for a 3rd LAC!
Rock on friends!